Agency Plans to List All Chimps as Endangered

WASHINGTON (CN) – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to list captive chimpanzees in the United States as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The USFWS listed wild chimpanzees as endangered, in 1990, but exempted chimpanzees held in captivity in the United States. In 2010, the Humane Society of the United States, the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, the Jane Goodall Institute, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance, the Fund for Animals, Humane Society International, and the New England Anti-Vivisection requested that captive chimpanzees be reclassified as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. In addition, the USFWS proposes to eliminate a special rule that exempts captive chimpanzees in the United States from the general prohibitions of the Endangered Species Act. The proposal also serves as the agency’s 12-month finding and 5-year review of the species.Comments on the proposed rule are due by Aug. 12.